From its roots in call recording, CallCopy is rapidly expanding its suite of solutions, eager to secure a position in the workforce optimization (WFO) space. In the last year alone, the company has churned out a raft of releases: the fourth iteration of its contact center solution suite, cc: Discover, which boasts enhanced functionality and a browser-based interface; a phonetics-based speech analytics solution promising affordable, enterprise-quality technology for small and midsize businesses; a performance management system, cc: Insight Platform; and finally, just before the end of 2009, cc: Community, a social portal where CallCopy users can discuss and interact with each other and access the company knowledge library.

Several industry observers credit this final release—focusing on CallCopy’s community of users—as a sign of what the company is really all about: qualitative support. “That’s one of the things they really pride themselves on,” says one analyst who covers the contact center WFO market. “Having a relationship with customers rather than viewing [each one] as a number…that’s [CallCopy’s] number-one differentiation.”

Companies are catching on to the customer demand for a social space, and analysts say that CallCopy’s ability to be up front with its customers by creating this environment is, in the words of one observer, “definitely a wise move.” Not only is the company enabling customers to interact with each other in cc: Community, but it’s providing a medium for issues that need to be addressed or misconceptions that need to be corrected.

In terms of the technology, the company has clearly made inroads into the WFO space. “They’re pretty well rounded out,” says Dick Bucci, senior consultant at The Pelorus Group and founder of Technology Marketing Associates. In addition to last year’s releases, Bucci notes the significance of the company’s launch of cc: Survey in 2008. Each of these offerings, he says, was a natural extension of CallCopy’s core solution, adding value and speaking to the commitment to provide functionality that resonates with user demands.

Analysts see a gap in the contact center solution market, with Tier 1 vendors (e.g., Nice Systems, Verint Systems) earning hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, followed by Tier 2 vendors earning between $10 million and $30 million. CallCopy, however, is cited as a small-fry beginning to encroach upon the Tier 1 revenue stream, thanks to solid technology, a much-lower price point, and a higher level of support. With just a handful of competitors, these analysts consider CallCopy a top contender for that middle market.

As the leaders in the contact center solutions space move toward the WFO model, analysts note that it will continue to put pressure on the tier below. “Smaller vendors [such as CallCopy] don’t have to have every bell and whistle,” Bucci says, “but they need to be able to say, ‘Yeah, we can get it.’” According to Bucci, it’s CallCopy’s ability to deliver on seemingly “little innovations” that resonate deeply with end users, forging closer ties.

Bucci takes special note of CallCopy’s enthusiasm and motivation as a significant distinction within the marketplace, and he credits the firm’s ethos for its ability to be innovative with its products and proactive in its customer support.

Bucci says he considers CallCopy “a very worthy recipient” of the Rising Star award. “[It’s] very young [and] aggressive—just a fun group of people to work with.”